Includes bibliographical references (p. [443]-447) and index

Biographer Fraser takes us into the heart of the British royal family during the tumultuous period of the American and French revolutions and beyond, illuminating the complicated lives of these exceptional women: Charlotte, Princess Royal, the eldest, constantly at odds with her mother; home-loving, family-minded Augusta; plump Elizabeth, a gifted amateur artist; Mary, the bland beauty of the family; Sophia, emotional and prone to take refuge in illness; and Amelia, "turbulent and tempestuous." Weaving together letters and historical accounts, Fraser re-creates their world in all its frustrations and excitements. The six sisters, though accomplished and extremely well educated, were kept from marrying by George III, and Fraser describes how they remained subject to their father while he teetered on the brink of mental collapse. The King may have believed that his six daughters were happily celibate at Windsor, but secretly, Fraser shows, they enjoyed startling freedom.--From publisher description

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